Vice President Kamala Harris stopped her first rally of the day in Michigan on Friday for a medical emergency.
The Democratic nominee was in Grand Rapids Friday afternoon, where she was addressing union voters in the automotive industry. But she had to pause abruptly when someone near the stage had a medical emergency.
“We need a medic over here. Let’s clear a path so they can come through please,” Harris said. “Are you okay?”
After being reassured that the attendee was okay, Harris continued her speech.
Harris focused mostly on the automobile industry, saying former president Donald Trump encouraged automobile companies to relocate outside of Michigan so they could pay their workers less.
Harris then reiterated her support for “strong unions…better pay and working conditions.”
“Let’s be clear, Donald Trump is no friend of labor,” Harris said, calling Trump “one of the biggest losers of manufacturing.”
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
As the presidential race grows tighter, both Harris and Trump are making campaign stops in Michigan this week, with Trump set to visit Oakland County on Friday before holding a rally in Detroit in the evening.
During his visit, Trump the Building America’s Future group will host Trump for a roundtable in Oakland County that will also include Republican Mike Rogers—who’s vying for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin—as well as Florida Republican Representative Byron Donalds.
The roundtable discussion will focus mainly on manufacturing jobs and the cost of living, according to a press release from Trump’s campaign.
Harris said in her Grand Rapids rally that Trump is making “empty promises.”
Harris will also visit Lansing and Oakland County later Friday.
The vice president has struggled to win endorsements from key unions in Michigan, like the firefighters union, which is traditionally a Democratic bloc.
The International Association of Firefighters endorsed Joe Biden four years ago but declined to back any candidate this year.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also declined to endorse Harris in September, saying neither she nor Trump had sufficient support from the 1.3 million-member union.
Harris has also struggled to win strong support from Arab-American voters, who have been skeptical of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a co-chair of Harris’ campaign, said that the expectation was always that “it was going to be a close election.”
“People are like, ‘Oh it’s so close.’ And I’m like, have you not been listening for decades?” Whitmer said. “Michigan is a divided state. And that’s why we don’t write off the reddest of areas on a political map. We show up.”
According to Michigan’s voter participation dashboard, 11.9 percent of voters who are eligible for early voting via mail ballot have already voted, meaning more than 850,000 votes have already been cast in the swing state.
Michigan issued 2,158,994 mail ballots for the 2024 election, down from over three million ballots issued in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some 55 percent of mail-in ballots were sent to registered Democrats, while only 35 percent went to Republicans. Another 10 percent went to voters registered with another or no political party.
On Thursday, 338Canada published its latest update, which put Harris slightly ahead of Trump in Michigan. She has a 51 percent chance of winning the state, versus Trump’s 49 percent.
FiveThirtyEight’s polling on Friday put the race between Harris and Trump in Michigan at “even,” according to the website. Harris has a 0.4 point lead, with 47.5 percent of the vote in Michigan. Trump is predicted to receive 47.2 percent of the vote. The site also listed Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada as even.
Nationally, FiveThirtyEight has Harris ahead on Friday by two points, with 48.3 percent. Trump is forecasted to pull in 46.3 percent of the vote.
